For three days, St Joseph’s College transformed into a fraternity experiment. The young students, ages 9 to 18, lived side by side with their professors, their families, as well as many other young people, adults and elderly from other cities. The Mariapolis was organised by members of the local Jos community, as well as other communities like that of Abuja (4 hours away) and Onitsa (12). There were also some young people of the Focolare from Lagos. In Nigeria, a country of seemingly limitless expanses, long trips bristling with danger often need to be overcome. Yet this did not stop anyone from supporting the Mariapolis at St. Joseph’s. The school opened its gates to welcome the young and not so young, students, teachers, workers. Among the Mariapolites was John Maigari, who had once attended and taught at the school. Now retired, Maigari also previously headed the diocese’s department of education. Many years prior he himself had experienced Mariapolis life, where each person sees each other as family to love and to serve. Now after many years, the professor hoped that the students could experience that same lifestyle. His proposal was welcomed. For three days, the school completely changed. Moments of reflection and going in depth were joined with tangible experiences. Divided into groups, students of different ages lived side by side with teachers and those attending, sharing the various moments of the day: cooking, washing dishes, tidying up the meeting hall, cleaning toilets and the school playground. For some it was their first time; they had never done anything like it. Even the school’s principal washed dishes! A large book was prepared for the students to capture their comments. It tells of three days of true living. The retreat changed their lives, they say. “The unity we lived during those days struck us from the very first moment that you set foot in our school.” It was a unity that the words of Chiara Lubich and the witness of the Focolare members had transmitted to them. “I feel really happy and enthusiastic,” writes Nipps, “because these days were wonderful. I experienced many things and was particularly struck by the love and unity that the team of people who ran the program had between them.” “Before my life was incomplete,” says Keivin, “because I didn’t feel at all that God truly existed and was alive. Now I truly believe in God.” “This retreat wasn’t like the others,” adds Daong. “You ate with us and slept at our high school.” In this part of Nigeria, for years there have been many episodes of violence between Christians and Muslims, with seeds of hatred sown across the country. These young students also had lived through this. At the Mariapolis at Jos, they were able to experience an alternative: the firepower of God’s love and unity.